Refining the Mountains and Rivers

"It is a sacrifice!"

Soft Peach uttered. Her usual smile disappeared and she stared at the hexagram formed by the six True Saints. Surprise filled her eyes.

Truthfully, she was shocked by the efforts of the ancient Saints. They were very low-key but when they acted, they were vicious…they were actually going to kill every cultivator within the area of the hexagram!

Qin Yu could also sense the ominous aura in the hexagram. It spun rapidly like a large disk. Rumbles could be heard as it spun and layers of strong waves within it threatened to destroy everything.

It was very hard to imagine how much time the ancient Saints spent to complete the preparations for something so terrifying. Furthermore, weren't they afraid of the West Desolate and Mysterious Clan taking revenge?

If they planned for this long, Qin Yu believed that the ancient Saints' understanding of the Mysterious Clan and West Desolate would be deep.

They dared to do this despite knowing the consequences. Were they completely fearless? Qin Yu did not think so. The other possibility was that the ancient Saints were not leaving any way out for themselves.

Simply put, if they failed, they were prepared to die in the Mountain of Flames. If they succeeded, they were going to reap huge benefits!

His eyes sparkled brilliantly. He was even more excited with what the Mountain of Flames held!

The reason was simple. If they were not fully confident, the ancient Saints would not dare to take such a huge risk. They must know something about the existence of the Mountain of Flames. It had something that could change their lives.

As for their large scale massacre…Qin Yu did not have any opinion on that. Actually, he was happy. His original intention was to leave the West Desolate and Mysterious Clan behind and the ancient Saints were helping him to achieve this.

However, there was one thing that Qin Yu realized through this. Everyone was an actor. When he was acting, others were also putting on an act.

For instance, Close Saint had appeared reluctant when he agreed to Qin Yu's conditions. Yet, it was now very obvious that the ancient Saints had already decided how to handle the West Desolate and Mysterious Clan. At the very most, Qin Yu gave them greater motivation.

To operate the ship and enter the Mountain of Flames through the turbulent space required not only the keys but also a large amount of energy.

With the six stars of the hexagram and the Blood Sacrifice from the cultivators of the two camps, this would create sufficient energy to operate the ship!

As he thought of how many Vast Brightness World cultivators were used in the past to operate the ship, Qin Yu's last pity towards the victims of the massacre disappeared. This was what they deserved!

Soft Peach suppressed her initial shock. She blinked at Qin Yu as she observed the subtle changes in his expression and the coldness in his eyes. She could guess what he was thinking. At first, she only knew that Qin Yu was scheming against the two camps. It seemed that his feelings for them were more complicated and he was hateful towards them.

Was this useful news for her? Perhaps she could touch him through this and break the animosity between the two of them to become closer.

……

Under the six stars of the hexagram, a purgatory was conducted.

Qin Yu did not know how the six Saints prepared for this or the price they paid. But each point in the hexagram unleashed immense power.

The six stars were more accurately the Great Dao of the six Saints. Through the forbidden power of the array, their Great Dao intertwined with each other.

Rules were broken in Bounded Zero Place. With the Great Dao of the six Saints in action, there was overpowering strength. Naturally, people reacted to this.

As such, when the killing started, the six Saints were in vulnerable positions. The space surrounding the six points of the hexagram cracked continuously. It felt like a fierce school of piranhas dragging its prey into the waters.

As beings that have lived for a very long time, the ancient Saints dared to use this move and they must be really confident in it. Their Great Dao howled and the power generated swept through the six points and circled in the hexagram, unleashing sharp killing intent. However, they also surrounded themselves with energy to protect themselves against the dangers of Bounded Zero Place.

Evidently, the risk the six ancient Saints bore at this time due to the Great Dao energy was immense. Within the hexagram, there were a lot of cries, mourning, broken bodies, and limbs. A pungent smell of blood also filled the air.

The six stars of the hexagram linked up through the power of Great Dao. As the Great Dao resonated with each other, it was like a baptism was being conducted through the terrifying power of the six True Saints.

The cultivators from the West Desolate and Mysterious Clan were strong, but they were nowhere near able to stand their ground against the combined power of the six True Saints.

If this was the only reason, the undying cultivators from the West Desolate and Mysterious Clan would just swear for revenge. There was no need for their fearful cries and this event would not be called a purgatory as well.

No one would be able to escape!

In other words, the people within the hexagram were all going to die.

The Mysterious Clan had a clan secret and they were favored by the will of the West Desolate. They could be revived in the Life Spring. However, after too much bloodline was lost, those with less than half of their bloodlines would be reborn with a foreign consciousness.

This was no different than dying!

Of course, because they came from the Desolate Area, people from the upper region would not sit still and do nothing after learning about the current situation.

However, this move from the six ancient Saints was very vicious. They had also been very meticulous. As such, every attempt to break the six stars ended up in failure.

This was a testament to the strengths of the six ancient Saints.

Li Zhouyi's face was pale and his body shook violently. If not for the West Desolate True Saints protecting him, he would not have survived till this point with his own cultivation.

Buzz!

Another wave of force swept through and fresh blood spurted out of his mouth. Li Zhouyi truly felt death upon him now.

"Ah! Your Highness, please save me!"

"I don't want to die!"

As the screams came, two West Desolate cultivators' bodies burst into pieces. Like others, their limbs spread out across the floor and they did not change into darkness energy that dissipated through the air.

The smell of blood grew thicker.

This entire scene happened not far from him and Li Zhouyi's will was completely crushed. He had already discovered that the passageway connecting the West Desolate and the fragmented area had been blocked. As such, he knew that his long-awaited reinforcements would not come.

Run! He had to leave this place!

Otherwise, he would be reduced to ashes like the rest of these men.

But how could he run…

Li Zhouyi sighed deeply. Fearfulness and madness was in his eyes. There was even a bloodshot color in his gaze.

"True Saints, we have completely lost control of the situation and the West Desolate can no longer support us. Death is the only way out!"

The two Saints' expressions turned sour. Did Li Zhouyi need to remind them of this? Even as True Saints, the danger of the six stars to them was immense and they were not confident of prying themselves away from the deaths of their avatars. Death was fine but if their Great Dao was destroyed, there would be no future for them. For a cultivator, this was no different from eternal death.

At that point, Li Zhouyi did not have the heart to waste time. He looked behind him for a short while and continued, "We suffered a great defeat this time and regardless of the reason, we must suffer the consequences. We are all tied together at this point."

This was the truth.

It was an anxious moment and Li Zhouyi did not know how many more blows he would be able to take from the six stars. He continued without a moment of hesitation, "As such, Saints, please stand with me. We will push the blame to Li Quanji and the Mysterious Clan. It was them who caused the rogue cultivators of the fragmented area to rebel and this was the mess that resulted."

The two Saints' expressions turned ugly. If they knew that this would be the outcome from going to the fragmented area, they would not have agreed to come here even if it meant rejecting the Desolate King.

However, things were like this and it was obvious there was nothing they could do. Li Zhouyi was right. This was a great defeat for them and there would be severe consequences. Even as Saints, they would not be spared from punishment.

Someone else had to take the blame!

One of the True Saints gritted his teeth, "Sixth prince, we know what we ought to do. But how are we going to run from the six stars?"

If they could break the array and run, they would have done so a long time ago. Why would they suffer till now?

Li Zhouyi's eyes turned darker, "The West Desolate has a forbidden technique that can be used in critical moments for us to run…"

The two True Saints instinctively knew what he was referring to before he could finish. Instantly, shock filled their faces.

However, a dark look crossed through their eyes. In desperate times, they were not going to care so much.

After all, these people would die sooner or later. Why not let them do a little sacrifice so that they could save themselves?

Without the need for communication, Li Zhouyi understood what the True Saints wanted just from their faces. He commanded in a low tone, "Please help me True Saints!"

A few moments later, the surviving West Desolate men within the six stars were stunned. They whipped their heads around towards Li Zhouyi and their eyes filled with disbelief.

Like a balloon being filled with water, a rumbling sound started and the West Desolate men began to explode. Blood flooded the air, shrouding Li Zhouyi and the two True Saints within.

"Blood Moon!"

Between Li Zhouyi's eyes, a third eye seemed to open. A large amount of blood poured out from it. Like oil for a raging fire, the blood from the eye ignited the blood mist. As it burnt, a Blood Moon slowly started to form within the flames.

It was like the pitch black night that hid the shadow of the moon. In the dark sky, there was a faint light from the illusion.

It was this illusion that let out a terrifying energy. It instantly tore apart the space and devoured Li Zhouyi and the two True Saints.

Psst!

Close Saint spat out a mouth of fresh blood. His chest was pierced by a space force and a large wound appeared.

He touched the wound in his chest and it instantly closed. He looked in the direction where the Blood Moon disappeared and sighed, "As expected of the Upper Desolate Area…"

The best outcome was that everyone under the six stars died. By then, the West Desolate and Mysterious Clan would not be able to put the blame on them.

Like what Qin Yu said before, the ancient Saints had a very good understanding of how terrifying the two camps were.

It would be a lie to say that they were fearless when they decided to take action this time.

Unfortunately, the best case scenario was not possible anymore.

The six stars remained stable. Before they made their move, the ancient Saints knew that it was almost impossible to keep everything that happened today a secret.

As long as they could infiltrate the Mountain of Flames and obtain the Ruler's treasure, they would have a chance to step through the Dragon Gate and fill in the role of Ruler. By then, they would not need to fear the wrath of the two camps!

Aside from Li Zhouyi and the two True Saints, every other West Desolate cultivator was killed.

There were only cultivators from the Mysterious Clan left under the six stars.

"My Lord, nothing can happen to you. For the future, please leave the fragmented area!" Two illusions of elders in the clan appeared before Number 327. They cupped their hands to him and said in a serious tone, "My apologies!"

Before Number 327 could react, the two elders yelled, "Origin Assembling!"

Boom, boom!

Numerous pillars of blood light exploded from the cultivators of the Mysterious Clan and formed a hundred streaks that entered the two elders' bodies.

"Open!"

With a roar, the space vibrated and layers cracked open. Number 327 was covered in the space and he quickly disappeared.

Kaboom!

The six stars above started to shift and the endless blood light rose into the air as it was absorbed by the array. The sky turned a crimson red.

Qin Yu's eyes narrowed. He knew the massacre was over and he was slightly happy because of the deaths of so many from the two camps. However, there was a coldness that came from his soul.

"They are very strong. Qin Yu, you need to be careful taking on this group of old farts. Do not reveal anything."

Soft Peach's words echoed Qin Yu's thoughts.

He glanced at her and spat out, "My name is Virtuous Nine."

Soft Peach laughed, "Don't worry, I won't expose you."

With that, her eyes flashed and she looked ahead.

Qin Yu also had the same feeling. Six figures walked out of the space in front of him.

Close Saint cupped his hands together, "Virtuous Nine, we have already gotten rid of our obstacle. We can board the ship now."